Fire-Sticks (2 Sets)

Object Details

Collector

Sgt. John J. McLean

Donor Name

Sgt. John J. McLean

Provenience note: collection apparently purchased or collected by McLean in Sitka and vicinity circa 1884.

From card: "[1] Trocadero/July, 1885. Illus. in USNM AR, 1888; fig. 1, p. 535; also in Proceedings USNM, vol. 73, Art. 14; fig. 1; p. 10." From old 19th or early 20th century typed exhibit label stored with artifact: "Fire drill and tinder of cedar, Thuja gigantea, slightly charred, in order to repel moisture. Tinder of frayed cedar bark. Lower piece [hearth] shows three cavities, in which the spindle works, with their accompanying furrows for collecting the dust in which the spark appears. Length of lower piece and spindles 23 i[nches]. Tlingit Inds., Sitka, Alaska. Two spindles are often kept with the set on account, perhaps, of the difficulty in procuring a round seasoned stick on an emergency."

In 2023, Paz Nunez-Regueiro, Head of the Americas collection at the Musée du Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac confirmed that object that went to the Trocadero is still there at Branly, now as catalog number 71.1885.78.71.

Record Last Modified

11 Oct 2024

Specimen Count

4

Culture

Tlingit

Accession Date

27 Dec 1884

Collection Date

1884

Accession Number

015504

USNM Number

E74379-0

Object Type

Fire Set

Place

Baranof Island / Sitka, Alexander Archipelago, Alaska, United States, North America

See more items in

Anthropology

NMNH - Anthropology Dept.

Topic

Ethnology

Record ID

nmnhanthropology_8478001

Metadata Usage (text)

CC0

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3f78c152c-cd79-4ffc-be73-fa3c02a341cd